Module 11: Policy Writing and Review
“Hapaitia te ara tika pumau ai te rangatiratanga mo nga uri whakatipu” “Foster the pathway of knowledge to strength, independence, and growth for future generations.”
Module Objectives:
- Define the purpose and critical importance of policies and procedures within a New Zealand school.
- Distinguish between policies and procedures and articulate their relationship.
- Identify key legislative and regulatory requirements that underpin school policies in Aotearoa.
- Explain the typical cycle of policy development, review, and communication.
- Analyse their role in implementing, upholding, and communicating policies and procedures within their teams.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of existing policies or procedures within their kura and suggest improvements.
- Contribute to a culture of compliance and consistency that supports a safe and well-managed learning environment.
Following the pathway of knowledge is a lifelong journey, and the time spent in school is an early and vital part. For the learning community that is a school to foster knowledge, strength, independence and growth, it must have a clear direction and the tools to navigate in that direction. One set of tools providing scaffolding for certainty and safety on the knowledge journey is the policies and procedures that schools have in place. Implementation of the school’s vision and effective delivery of the national curriculum needs to be supported by a framework of policies that demonstrate qualities such as inclusion, fairness, and integrity for all members of the school community.
Policies and procedures are the backbone of any well-functioning organisation, and schools are no exception. They are fundamental tools for ensuring consistency, legal compliance, safety, and operational efficiency across all aspects of school life. As a school leader, you are on the frontline of policy implementation, making them come alive in the day-to-day work of your team and ensuring they support the school’s vision and strategic goals.
Legislative Foundations
The role of policies and procedures in schools is fundamentally covered in the Education and Training Act 2020 in sub sections 125, 126, and 127. These sections clearly outline the Board of Trustees’ responsibilities for governance, including setting policies, making bylaws, and ensuring that the school operates in a way that promotes student achievement, safety, inclusivity, and gives effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
- Section 125 – Board is governing body: States that the Board is responsible for the governance of the school, including setting the policies. The principal acts as the Board’s chief executive in control and management.
- Section 126 – Bylaws: Grants the Board the power to make bylaws necessary for school control and management, requiring consultation with staff, students (where appropriate), and the school community.
- Section 127 – Objectives of boards in governing schools: Outlines the primary objectives for Boards, which directly inform policy development. These include ensuring:
- Every student reaches their highest educational standard.
- The school is a physically and emotionally safe place for all students and staff.
- Student rights are upheld (Education and Training Act, NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990, Human Rights Act 1993).
- Elimination of racism, stigma, bullying, and discrimination.
- The school is inclusive and caters for students with differing needs.
- Effect is given to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, including reflecting local tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori, and te ao Māori in plans, policies, and curriculum, and striving for equitable outcomes for Māori students.
- The Board operates in a financially responsible way and complies with all other legal obligations.
You can find the full text of the Act here: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0038/latest/whole.html?search=sw_096be8ed81af84b7_policies_25_se&p=1#LMS177735
Educational Policies (and procedures) are the ‘safety net’ for schools to ensure they are compliant with the legislation governing them, provide clarity and structure of expectations to the staff, student and parent community, and allow the Board of Trustees to discharge their governance responsibilities effectively and safely. In order to function well, schools must have clear policies and procedures that guide day-to-day processes.
Policies vs. Procedures: Understanding the Distinction
It’s important to understand the difference between these two interconnected concepts:
- Policies: These are high-level statements that define the principles, rules, and intentions that guide decision-making and behaviour within the school. They explain what the school does and why. For example, a school might have a “Health and Safety Policy” or a “Digital Technologies Use Policy.”
- Procedures: These are the detailed, step-by-step instructions that describe how a policy is to be carried out. They provide clear guidance on the actions to be taken in specific situations to ensure the policy is followed consistently. For example, the “Health and Safety Policy” might have procedures for reporting accidents, managing emergencies, or conducting risk assessments.
Together, policies and procedures provide clarity and consistency, ensuring that everyone understands expectations and responsibilities. School policies commonly group as operational policies (day-to-day) and governance policies(directional overview). They help a school establish rules, procedures, and create standards of quality for learning and safety, as well as expectations and accountability. Without these, schools would lack the structure and function necessary to provide the educational needs of students.
The Policy Life Cycle:
Effective policies are not static; they go through a continuous cycle:
- Development: Identifying a need for a new policy, researching best practice and legal requirements, drafting the policy with stakeholder input.
- Approval: Formal endorsement by the Board of Trustees.
- Communication: Ensuring all relevant stakeholders are aware of the policy and understand its implications. This is where middle leaders play a crucial role.
- Implementation: Putting the policy into practice through consistent procedures and staff training.
- Monitoring: Regularly observing whether the policy is being followed and if it is achieving its intended purpose.
- Review: Periodically assessing the policy’s effectiveness, relevance, and compliance, often on a scheduled cycle. This may lead to revisions or retirement of the policy.
The Ministry of Education’s advice on “Legislation and school policies” highlights the ongoing responsibility for keeping policies current and compliant.
Your Role as an AP or DP:
As an AP or DP, you are vital to the effective functioning of policies and procedures. Your responsibilities include:
- Understanding: Familiarising yourself thoroughly with all relevant school policies and procedures.
- Communication: Clearly communicating policies and their associated procedures to your team, ensuring understanding.
- Implementation: Ensuring that your team consistently adheres to all policies and procedures in their daily work.
- Modelling: Leading by example in your own adherence to school policies.
- Monitoring: Observing how policies are working in practice within your area and identifying any challenges or inconsistencies.
- Feedback: Providing constructive feedback to senior leadership or the Board regarding the effectiveness or challenges of existing policies, contributing to the review cycle.
Task:
Using the ‘5 Tips for Writing Meaningful Policy and Procedures for Schools’ and ‘Importance of
School Policies and Procedures’ resource, write a statement about the quality of your current
policies in meeting the criteria outlined in these documents.
- b. c. Does your school model best practice?
Are there any gaps in your current policy structure?
Have any of your policies caused discussion or feedback from the school community
and/ or staff?
- Recommendations you would make for improvement to the policy creation or review
process?
Resources:
Operational Policies – NZSTA / Governance – NZSTA
https://www.nzstaresourcecentre.org.nz/learningeventsresources/?aId=ka0RF00000068HRYAY
5 Tips for Writing Meaningful Policy and Procedures for Schools
https://www.thoughtco.com/draft-effective-policy-and-procedures-3194570
Importance of School Policies and Procedures’
Education and training Act 2020
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0038/latest/LMS170676.html
Policy writing resources
7 Responses
We currently use School Docs, and at every BOT hui, we review one of them. I believe that our school practices align with the ‘5 Tips for Writing Meaningful Policy and Procedures for Schools’ and ‘Importance of School Policies and Procedures’. As we review them at the BOT level, we also review them at our Staff PD hui, so that everyone is clear on the expectations. Having a clear understanding of these helps to build a culture that is informed and can show these.
We have had a gap in our EOTC policy, and we have been reviewing best practices this year, conducting a significant review and shake-up across the school. This has led to a much more informed team, whānau and community. We have had good community feedback on the review of this and taken into account what has been shared.
I have worked closely with senior leadership to implement and monitor the school’s policies and procedures. Overall, our policies are high-quality, compliant, and aligned with legislation, including the Education and Training Act 2020, Health and Safety requirements, and the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. They provide clear guidance for staff, students, and whānau, supporting inclusion, equity, and wellbeing while ensuring operational consistency.
Our school models best practice by regularly reviewing policies on a scheduled cycle, involving stakeholders in consultation, and linking procedures directly to strategic and operational goals. However, some areas for improvement include:
Streamlining access and clarity: Some procedures are lengthy or not user-friendly, which can hinder staff understanding and consistent application.
Community engagement: While staff input is strong, broader whānau engagement in policy feedback could be improved.
Some policies, particularly around digital technologies and behaviour management, have sparked discussion among staff, indicating the need for clearer procedures and practical examples.
Recommendations for improvement:
Simplify documentation: Provide concise, step-by-step procedural guides alongside high-level policies.
Enhanced training and communication: Implement targeted staff workshops to ensure understanding and consistency.
Structured review cycle with stakeholder input: Include staff, students, and whānau in scheduled policy reviews to ensure relevance and responsiveness.
Monitor implementation: Establish feedback mechanisms and regular audits to evaluate policy effectiveness in practice.
Through these steps, I aim to strengthen a culture of compliance, consistency, and shared responsibility, ensuring our policies not only meet legislative requirements but also actively support a safe, inclusive, and well-managed learning environment.
Policy Quality and Structure Reflection (Module 11)
The adoption of School Docs means our kura inherently models best practice concerning policy content and compliance. We meet the criteria for legal requirements (Education and Training Act 2020, NAG 3, etc.), and our policies demonstrate the necessary qualities of inclusion and safety. This system effectively manages the governance policies and ensures the Board discharges its legal responsibilities.
Recommendations for Improvement:
Introduce a “Policy Workload Impact Assessment”: Before approving any new or revised policy/procedure, assess the expected time burden on staff. If the compliance procedure requires significant time, the policy must justify the work and identify compensating tasks that can be stopped or automated.
Streamline Operational Procedures: Actively review and simplify the step-by-step instructions for high-frequency policies, ensuring procedures are as lean and consistent as possible across all departments, reducing unnecessary fragmentation of effort.
Does your school model best practice?
Yes I believe it does. Our policies are on the School Docs website. These ensure they are aligned with current legislation and there is a clear timetable for review. We have a review committee that sits within the Board and it includes management representation to ensure robust discussion and review is held. Having staff representation within this group provides the Board assurance that each policy is reflecting current practice.
Are there any gaps in your current policy structure?
There has been a lot of discussion around AI use in Education at staff and Board level. As it’s an evolving situation and its use can have a range of views, the school is committed to more regular review as this area develops.
Recommendations you would make for improvement to the policy creation or review process?
I feel the school has a good system in place for policy creation and review. The school acts on advice from the ministry, NZSBA and School Docs to ensure policies and procedures are up to date, relevant and meet the needs of our school. An area that could be investigated is whether there is an opportunity to get more feedback and voice during the review of policies. There is a committee that reviews policies, however there could be opportunities to get more staff and community feedback. Review dates are shared with the community.
My School policies are managed through SchoolDocs. The principles outlined in the ‘5 Tips for writing meaningful Policy and Procedures for schools, I believe we currently meet criteria outlined in these documents.
Our policies are reviewed and revisited on a cycle, helping to ensure these are up to date. We follow a clear plan for revising policies.
Policies are written with our school in mind (specific audience to target)
Policies are clear. Written in straight forward language for both staff and Whānau to understand.
One policy that I believe needs some updated attention is digital technology. As stated in the resource by Derrick Meador “Policies dealing with technology probably need frequently updated due to the rapid evolution of the technology industry itself.” AI needs to be included within the document, or possibly a separate policy drafted. Policies need to include use for both staff and students. All students year 4-8 have regular access to a device and Google account. This policy also needs to be reviewed regularly to ensure all current staff understand and implement the policy.
I believe that my school’s policies and procedures are clear, concise, and robust, aligning with the key ideas outlined in the articles ‘5 Tips for Writing Meaningful Policy’ and ‘Procedures for Schools and Importance of School Policies and Procedures’.
Our school demonstrates best practice in its policies and procedures. They are accessible and written in a language that teachers, students, and whānau can easily understand. Policies are regularly reviewed and updated, with review dates clearly stated and the next scheduled review dates noted. Staff, students, and whānau are encouraged to participate in the review process, and even if a policy is not due for review, it may be revisited if circumstances require. Our leadership team keeps these policies front and centre in everything we do, helping everyone understand the reasoning behind decisions and guiding the daily running of the school. Our policies and procedures also align with legal requirements, relevant laws, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, supporting effective and inclusive practice across the school.
One policy we need to improve is the use of AI. With our students being of intermediate age, AI is rapidly becoming part of their digital world. All our students have a school Google Drive account, and once they turn 13, they can legally access the AI app Gemini through their account. Navigating this is challenging, as AI tools, especially ChatGPT, have arrived quickly. Any policy implemented in this area may need more frequent review due to the pace of technological change.
I believe our policies and procedures naturally generate discussion and feedback. Staff view this as part of their role, as policies are central to their work. Parental feedback varies depending on the policy being reviewed. For example, with our recent Te Ao Māori initiative/Māori Education Achievement policy, we invited only Māori families to a Matariki breakfast to engage them more meaningfully. While this was a success for those families, some other families did not feel included. This highlighted the need to reflect and improve how we engage all members of our school community.
My recommendation for improving policy creation and review is to always start with the ‘why’ behind them, even if this involves repeating ourselves. For example, the purpose of the Matariki breakfast was to specifically engage Māori families who were not attending other school-wide events. Communicating this clearly to the whole school community from the outset would have helped everyone understand the intention behind decisions. Transparency builds trust, reduces misunderstandings, and ensures all families feel informed and included.
Overall, I feel our school’s approach to policies and procedures is strong and proactive. By continuing to communicate the purpose behind our policies and staying responsive to emerging issues, such as AI, we ensure that our policies remain meaningful, relevant, and supportive of our whole school community.
Statement on the Quality of Policies at Parkview Pārua School
At Parkview Pārua School, our policies are well aligned with the principles outlined in 5 Tips for Writing Meaningful Policy and Procedures for Schools and The Importance of School Policies and Procedures. Our documentation reflects clarity, consistency, and shared understanding, supporting both staff and whānau to confidently engage with expectations and processes. Policies are written in accessible language, regularly reviewed, and developed in consultation with staff, the Board, and community representatives, ensuring they are both inclusive and responsive to our local context.
We ensure that each policy not only sets out the what but also explains the why, creating stronger buy-in and supporting a culture of accountability and consistency. Our systems actively prioritise the safety and well-being of students and staff, with clear guidelines around behaviour, pastoral care, curriculum delivery, and staff well-being. Importantly, policies are framed within our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and culturally responsive practice, ensuring equity and inclusion for all learners.
Does our school model best practice? Yes. Our policies are informed by SchoolDocs and NZSTA advice, ensuring they reflect national expectations and align with best practice in governance and school management. They are also treated as living documents, regularly reviewed through consultation, reflection, and feedback loops so that they remain relevant and responsive to emerging needs.
Are there any gaps in our current policy structure? Yes. At present, we recognise gaps around supporting gender identity, particularly in relation to EOTC planning and school facilities. This has highlighted a need for clearer guidance to ensure inclusivity and consistency across school practices.
Have any of our policies caused discussion or feedback from the school community and/or staff? Yes. The identified gaps have prompted discussion this year, particularly while planning for overnight school camps. Staff and whānau feedback has reinforced the importance of ensuring policies are both inclusive and practical in supporting all learners.
Recommendations for improvement: We recommend developing more direct approaches to supporting and addressing gender identity within our kura, ensuring policies explicitly promote inclusion. This includes consulting with relevant agencies and community groups to access best practice guidance, and embedding these approaches into our EOTC procedures, facilities planning, and wider school culture.
Overall, the quality of our current policies is strong, but like any living documents, they must continue to evolve. Addressing identified gaps will strengthen inclusivity, ensure equity, and further align our policies with our school values and vision.